1. Field
Embodiments relate to a semiconductor device and an operating method thereof, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device configured to control a wear leveling operation of a semiconductor memory device, and an operating method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically a limited number of write operations can be performed on cell of a semiconductor memory device, such as for example a NAND flash memory device or a phase change memory device prior to the degradation of that cell. For example, the number of write requests that may be performed in a cell in a phase change memory device may range from 106 to 108 write operations.
When write operations are concentrated in a specific cell region, the lifespan of the entire memory device may be shortened. A wear leveling operation is often performed in an attempt to uniformly distribute write operations across the cell regions of the semiconductor memory device.
When a write request is performed, a logical address received from a host is mapped to a physical address, and the write request is performed on the mapped physical address. The mapping operation between the logical address and the physical address may be performed in a number of different ways. For example, the physical address may be generated by performing an operation on the logical address and key data, during the mapping operation.